One little letter, One big consequence
by FluxWildly
Summary: What would happen if the girl of your dreams never noticed you? What if there were some way to change all that, with one little letter? Hints of Dasey, but mostly focusing upon an OC relationship with Casey. Updated with Chapter 6!
1. Chapter 1: Drafting

**I do not own Life With Derek, nor the characters contained within, with the exception of the Original Character and company that** **stems from him. This is an alternative look at the canon after the episode "Grade Point: Average." Hope you enjoy the read!**

CHAPTER 1:

Ricky West gazed at his alarm clock sleepily. The red digits blinked over to read 1:32. Ricky yawned loudly, rubbing his eyes. He had been at it now for more than three and a half hours. Ricky turned his clock back around and brought his pen back over to the paper. With a sigh, he started writing again. He promised himself that he would only be a few more minutes. He did have school tomorrow, after all. Ricky gave another quick glance over the paper. He started to read it from the beginning.

_Dear Casey:_

That's about as far as Ricky got before he was flooded with a sea of images from earlier that day...

"_Derek Venturi and Casey McDonald," said Mr. Patterson. _

_Derek Venturi snapped back into existence when the young English teacher called out his name. Casey McDonald, already at full attention was up to front of the class room within seconds of her name being called. She rolled her eyes at her half-asleep stepbrother. Trying to keep herself composed, she couldn't quite contain a little feeling of anger rising up in her. _

_Here she was dressed up like Mary Shelley for Derek's benefit, and what does he do? He falls asleep in the class that he will most likely fail without her help! Derek got up from his chair sleepily, holding his report in his hand, as he walked towards the front of the class._

_Derek held his hands up in an apologetic manner. Casey gave him a small disapproving nod, but she couldn't help but smile a little. He was dressed up like Percy Shelley. The old-fashioned clothing made him look decent...if not a little cute. Wait a minute! Cute! This was her stepbrother she was talking about! Derek Venturi! She shook the thought from her head as Derek fluffed his collar. The Victorian-era clothing was her last minute idea. She knew it would win over Mr. Patterson and help get Derek his much needed 90. _

_Derek cleared his throat and began the presentation. Casey listened to him intently._

"_Percy Shelley was born in..." began Derek._

_Casey looked on enthusiastically as Derek read his report, that he actually wrote! Casey was amazed when she had read the piece of writing that had come from Derek. Casey couldn't help but smile a little again. Maybe Derek was turning over a new leaf. She never saw him more determined about anything when he was writing his report last night. It was funny to see that maybe they weren't too different after all. He was worried about a grade. Something made Derek Venturi...human. _

_Casey smiled every now and then at the class as Derek was reading his report. She saw that many of them were actually transfixed upon Derek, some even with their jaws dropped. She didn't know if that was just Derek's oozing charisma, or they actually thought it was good. Probably a little of both. Even Mr. Patterson was smiling as Derek finished off his section of the report. For once, all eyes were on Derek Venturi for a different reason...in attention to his hard work. All eyes, that is, except for one._

_Ricky West glanced down at his own paper as Casey was looking around the room, trying not to make eye contact with her. All eyes had indeed been on Derek Venturi...but when hadn't they been? Ricky couldn't believe that a girl like Casey McDonald would choose Derek Venturi as a partner. With the first few sentences of Derek's report, Ricky had known that Casey must have written it. Casey deserved better...she deserved..._

"_Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, author of the famous 'Frankenstein'," started Casey. Her sweet voice broke Ricky out of his train of thought as he settled his eyes back upon Casey. _

_It was hard to believe that she'd only been here a few months. It seemed like forever to Ricky. Maybe it was because she just fit into the school so well. She was by no means the popular girl. Her "Klutzilla" episode sort of guaranteed her_ _opposite. But then again...what was popularity, anyway? Casey didn't need to be popular. She was cute. Ricky loved the way she'd subtly throw a smile into a conversation. Not that Ricky had had many with her, but her quirks stayed with him as he continued to listen to her heavenly voice._

_As Casey finished off her report, the class began applauding loudly. Derek took a mock bow, and Casey smiled. Even Mr. Patterson was joining in the applause. The applause was no doubt directed at Derek, but Ricky's claps were directed towards the better half of the team._

_Derek and Casey sat back down in their seats. Derek gave a smile towards Casey as Mr. Patterson walked back to the class. Casey gave a smile back and a little thumbs up towards her stepbrother...her partner. Derek gave her a high-five from his seat. Ricky couldn't help to feel a little angry. _

_Mr. Patterson looked over his clipboard and called the next name on the list._

"_Ricky," Mr. Patterson called out. "Ricky West."_

_Ricky snapped away from glaring at Derek angrily, clutching his paper. In a quick movement Ricky got up, but was unaware of his untied shoelaces and found himself tripping quickly towards the ground, desk coming down also. Ricky let out a shriek as he hit the floor. The class began laughing loudly, Derek Venturi being the instigator. He even thought he heard Mr. Patterson laugh a little. Mr. Patterson walked over to Ricky. Standing over him, he helped him up._

"_Are you okay, Ricky?" asked Mr. Patterson. "Ricky?"_

_Mr. Patterson continued to call Ricky's name._

_Ricky...Ricky..._

"_RICKY!"_

Ricky was brought back face to face with his alarm clock. It now read 2:30. A voice from downstairs yelled up loudly to him.

"RICKY!" yelled his mother. "Are you still up? Get to bed! It's a school night!"

"Sorry, mom," Ricky called back down.

Ricky glanced over the letter once again, dragging the pen across it a few more lines before turning off his lamp. As Ricky made his way towards his bed, he wondered if this was a good idea. As he flopped onto his bed, burying his face into the pillow. It had to be, he decided.

It was time for her to know...

END OF CHAPTER 1


	2. The Big Day

CHAPTER 2:

BUZZZZZZ...

Ricky West slammed his hand down on his alarm. The same alarm that had stared at him mockingly earlier this morning was now giving Ricky the crudest wake up call he could think of. Once again the alarm had the final laugh. Ricky groaned as he rolled over on his side. The first rays of the morning broke through Ricky's window, temporarily blinding him. Ricky's hands shot up to his face to block them, but to no avail. Between the alarm clock and the sun, Ricky knew that an extra five minutes of sleeping in was not in today's agenda.

He threw himself out of bed and walked towards his bathroom passing by the fruits of his labor. Funny when people use that expression they are usually talking about a huge product. The small rectangular envelope didn't seem to convey that description. Then again, who could judge by size alone anyway? It was huge in its own way. The contents within carried with it three months of pent up feelings and emotions.

"RICKY!" yelled a voice from downstairs. Ricky knew it was his mother. Quickly brushing his teeth, Ricky threw on some clothes.

"RICKY!" yelled Mrs. West once again.

"I'm coming Mom," Ricky yelled into the kitchen. "Jeez."

Ricky was hit with the aroma of pancakes as he entered the kitchen. The sizzling spatter of eggs being dropped into a pan followed immediately. Mrs. West turned around, giving Ricky a little shake of her head.

"There you are," Mrs. West said. "Thought you were going to sleep all morning."

"What do you mean?" Ricky asked.

"It's almost 10:00, sleepyhead," replied Mrs. West.

Ricky's eyes sleepy eyes shot open. "What did you just say?"

"10:00, Ricky," Mrs. West answered.

Ricky's eyes looked up at the kitchen clock. No way! How could it have been 10:00? His alarm said 7! He turned to his mother.

"How could you let me sleep?"

"Ricky you were up until God's hour last night! You needed to get your 8 hours!"

Ricky scoffed. "Ummm...great Mom. But what about school?"

"It's not like you're failing or anything, Rick. You can miss a day."

Ricky grumbled loudly and grabbed a dry pancake and ran back up the stairs.

"Ricky, what are you doing?"

"I have to go to school Mom!" Ricky yelled.

He ran up to his room, and picked up the envelope with the letter, quickly stuffing into his pocket. He ran back down the stairs and out the door without so much another word. He hopped on his bike and started pedaling towards school.

Ricky was lucky he only lived a few blocks away from the high school, or the bike would have been very impractical. The day had been ruined, or had it? Something didn't seem right, but Ricky couldn't figure out what it was. Clutching the letter in his pocket, he pedaled faster. His timing was off now. He was hoping to catch Casey before she went to her first period class. But now, with the faulty alarm clock incident, it was going on fourth period!

As Ricky pedaled into the parking lot, he heard the bell ring, signalling the end of third period. Great! He missed English. Not that that was a bad thing after he totally embarrassed himself the day before in front of everyone, not to mention Casey. Besides, third period was the only time he shared a class with Casey. Third period had become Ricky's favorite time of day. He quickly parked his bike in the bike rack and chained it up and ran into the school, hoping to be on time to fourth period.

Before he could make it, he ran into the guidance counselor, who insisted the students call him Paul. Paul put up his hands to stop Ricky in his tracks.

"Whoa whoa, where's the fire Ricky?" asked Paul

"Paul," Ricky said, sighing. "Sorry. I'm in kind of a hurry."

"I can see that. I saw your name on the absentee list this morning. Your mother called you in sick."

Ricky shook his head. "About that Paul..."

"I know what happened yesterday." Paul put a reassuring hand on Ricky's shoulder. "Are you ok?"

Ricky looked at Paul with a quizzical eyebrow. "Yesterday. What do you mean?"

"I heard about your fall in English class."

Ricky shook his head in disbelief. "How'd you know about that?"

Paul stifled a laugh. "Come on now, Ricky. Everyone knows about it."

Ricky choked in a silent obscenity. Thanks a lot Derek, Ricky thought.

Paul gave Ricky a good natured slap on the back. "Well...just so you know. I'm open for a chat anytime you'd like."

Ricky gave a forced smile. "Thanks Paul, but I really should be getting to class." He gave a wave as he headed to his Social Studies class on the second floor. He walked into Mrs. Callum's class. The entire class looked over as Ricky walked in. Mrs. Callum turned her head towards him also.

"So nice of you to join us Mr. West," Mrs. Callum said.

"Sorry Mrs. Callum," Ricky said. "I was..."

"Late," she finished. "Take your seat."

Ricky sat down at his desk, passing by giggles on his way over. Apparently, yesterday's fall was still on everyone's mind. What a start to an already horrible day.

As Mrs. Callum droned on about Lincoln issuing the Gettysburg Address, all Ricky could think of was the rectangular piece of fate in his pocket. Still, something seemed off, and it was churning in Ricky's stomach like a bad oyster. It seemed like only a few minutes before the end of fourth period. The bell rang out as the kids rushed out of the class room. Ricky slowly tagged behind them and entered into the hallway. He was greeted with his worst nightmare.

He looked down the hallway towards a set of lockers where Casey McDonald, and her friend, Emily were talking. Swooping out of a nearby classroom, like a dark cloud, was Derek Venturi. His voice echoed through the hallway as he walked over to Casey. Ricky stopped in his tracks as Derek gave Casey a hug.

"You are unbelievable Case," Derek shouted.

Casey seemed to have a smile on her face from where Ricky was standing, but he wasn't quite sure. All Ricky knew was that she wasn't pushing him away. The hug seemed to last for an hour, but must have only lasted a couple seconds.

"What was that for?" asked Casey.

"Just a way to say thanks," replied Derek. "Don't get all mushy over it. I just wanted to let you know we got a 92 on our project. Meaning I passed English!"

That feeling inside Ricky's stomach came back with the force of an anti-tank shell again. Something was wrong. It didn't help that he just saw Derek Venturi give a hug to his stepsister, the eye of his affections. Ricky tried to quell the feeling, shaking it off as caused by the green-eyed monster, jealousy.

"That's great Derek," Casey squealed.

"Well anyway, I gotta get going," Derek said. "I'll talk to you later."

The next couple of seconds were all a blur, but in a way seemed so clear to Ricky as he reached into his pocket, pulling out the envelope holding his confession. As he walked closer and closer to Casey everything seemed to be so clear. Derek moved away from the lockers walking down the hallway, head down, holding the envelope with his report card in it. His father was going to be so proud of him. And it saved him from an impending grounding. Ricky walked forward, his head also down. Derek and Ricky were headed for a crash course. They ran right into each other, causing each other to run into each other, knocking their things onto the ground.

"Hey!" Derek yelled out. "Watch where you're going Westicle!"

Ricky winced at the nickname Derek gave to him last year. Can you guess what it was named after? It rhymed with a certain male organ. Ricky threw his hands up apologetically.

"I'm so sorry Derek," Ricky replied. "I didn't see you there."

"Yeah that's obvious. Keep it up and you'll be the new Klutzilla."

Ricky picked up the envelope he dropped and began walking away from Derek, towards Casey. Clutching the envelope close he stopped inches away from Casey's locker.

She looked great, and Ricky's nose picked up the sweet smell of her perfume; spring roses. A strawberry based shampoo mixed with it caused an intoxicating aroma, paralyzing Ricky. She picked out her biology book, closed her locker and walked away with Emily, not even noticing Ricky. Ricky wanted to call out but his courage was killed.

She hadn't even noticed him. Ricky's head hung low as he walked to his fifth period class, sunk like the Titanic. He was the first in his fifth period class; the last one before lunch. He grabbed the envelope from his pocket again, and opened it again, hoping to find renewed courage in the letter. But that sinking sensation in his stomach returned after reading the first line. Something was wrong. Seriously wrong. He dropped the paper as soon as he read:

**Report Card for Derek Venturi**

**Final Grade**

**English: 68**

**Social Studies:****72**

**Math: 65**

**Biology: 72**

**Phys. Ed 100**

There was only one logical conclusion: there was a switch. Ricky had Derek's envelope...and Derek must have Ricky's. Ricky's buried his head into his hands. He didn't think it was possible: the day had went from worse to worst!

END OF CHAPTER 2


	3. In The Lion's Den

"All right let me get this straight. You wrote a love letter to Casey MacDonald, but bumped into Derek Venturi, and got his report card?"

"And Derek took my love letter!" Ricky screamed into the phone in frustration to his friend, Sheldon Schlepper.

"All right," Sheldon replied, trying to quell Ricky's anger. "It's not that bad. Just go over to the Venturi's house and make the switch with Derek. I'm sure he hasn't looked at his report card since earlier."

"Are you out of your mind!" Ricky yelled. "Go over to the Venturi's? What if Derek has already looked at it? Or..."

Pictures of Derek laughing as he read Ricky's confession of love to Casey, his stepsister, formed in his mind. What if he showed Casey already?

"Ricky!" Sheldon said loudly, snapping Ricky out of his daze.

"Yeah?" Ricky replied.

"Just get a hold of yourself, bud," Sheldon said. "You've got nothing to lose. The longer you wait, the harder it's going to be to get your letter back."

Ricky sighed deeply. Sheldon was right. He was always right. How Ricky and him became friends was beyond the young lovestruck teen. He and Ricky were exact opposites. He had charisma. Not the charisma Derek Venturi had, but charisma nonetheless. Ricky didn't have a single gene of smooth-talking in his body.

"Thanks Shel," Ricky said. "I guess you're right."

"No problem, bud," Sheldon replied. "You just let me know how everything turned out, you hear?"

"You got it," Ricky said, hanging the handset back onto the kitchen wall.

Ricky went to the closet and grabbed his windbreaker. It wasn't that it was chilly outside, but it sure felt like things were about to get a little colder. What he lacked in charisma, Ricky made up in cautiousness. And one thing he knew better than anything, was that when the zebra goes to the lion's den, he needed to be prepared.

Ricky snatched Derek Venturi's report card off of the kitchen table and tucked it into his pocket. As he opened the door, he bumped into his mother, almost knocking her over. Mrs. West fell backwards, losing her balance slightly. She clutched the railing of her porch to keep from falling over completely.

"Ricky!" Mrs. West yelled. She shook her head in disapproval. "Where are you off to in such a hurry? We haven't even had dinner yet!"

Ricky held his hands up apologetically. "I'm sorry, Mom. I can't talk right now. I'll be back in a little bit."

With that, Ricky West ran past his mother and hopped onto his bike and pedaled away from his house. The MacDonald-Venturi's lived a few blocks over. Ricky had known this from the daily school bus rides. He just never dreamed that he'd be stopping there without the safety of the yellow rectangular shell.

Ricky pedaled faster as his thoughts returned to a vengeful Derek Venturi displaying Ricky's words of affection to his stepsister. If only Ricky had been more courageous earlier and given the letter to Casey when he had the chance. How could he have? Ricky stopped pedaling, remembering the incident from yesterday. Why would someone like Casey MacDonald ever go for a fool like him? Still, something pushed him on closer and closer to the MacDonald-Venturi house. Was it fate? Or was it something even deeper? Like his accident in class yesterday, Ricky had fell hard. Only this time, it wasn't the floor that was waiting for him.

The two story home of the MacDonald-Venturi's glowered at young Ricky West, causing him to think twice about stopping. Nevertheless, Ricky hopped off his bike and parked it on the sidewalk. Ricky took another look at the house, half-expecting it to be even darker at this glance. It was...At least to Ricky's eyes.

Ricky moved slowly up the steps of the front porch. Ricky moved in slow-motion, half in fear, and half in anxiety. Ricky's knees trembled with each step as he inched closer to the doorbell of the house. Who would answer? What if it was Casey? Oh no! Ricky started to back up, but then he remembered it was Thursday evening. Casey had glee club rehearsal. Ricky breathed a sigh of relief and gathered up his courage, and rang the doorbell.

A few moments later, the door slowly opened. Ricky was greeted with a taller woman. She had a short hair cut, and Casey MacDonald's smile. It was obvious that this was the women that lent half of her genes to Casey.

"Hello," said Mrs. MacDonald.

"Hi Mrs. MacDonald," Ricky said. He slapped himself in the forehead. "I mean Mrs. Venturi." Again Ricky caught himself. "I mean Mrs. MacDonald-Venturi."

The woman let out a small chuckle. "Why don't you just call me Nora."

Ricky let out a nervous laugh. "Hello Mrs. Nora. My name's Ricky West. I go to school with Derek and Casey."

"Oh!" Nora smiled in delight. "It's always nice to meet one of Derek's friends."

Again, Ricky laughed nervously. "Right! Is Derek home right now?"

"I think so, Ricky," Nora said. "He should be up in his room. Go right up!"

Nora opened the door wider, and stepped to the side, allowing Ricky entrance. Ricky nervously stepped inside. He had hoped that the whole exchange would have been through the door. Now he had to go into Derek Venturi's room.

A little girl dressed in a bunny outfit came hopping across the MacDonald-Venturi's living room, her hands up in a paw-like fashion. She kept hopping and bumped into Ricky, knocking him onto the ground. Nora rushed over quickly to help Ricky back to his feet. Nora turned to the young girl and gave her a stern reprimanding.

"Marti!" Nora said. "What do you say?"

"Sorry," Marti said softly, bowing her head to the fallen Ricky.

Ricky waved his hand and gave a smile to the young bunny girl. "It's ok. No harm done. Hey Marti?"

Marti's eyes perked up and looked down at Ricky again. "What?"

"What do you call a rabbit who tells jokes?"

Marti shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know."

"A funny bunny," Ricky added.

Marti started giggling loudly, falling down from laughter. Nora looked down at Marti, shaking her head in amusement. Ricky got back to his feet, giving a smile to Nora.

"I have a little cousin about her age," he explained to Nora. "That one gets her everytime."

Nora shot a smile towards Ricky. "I've never seen anyone make Marti laugh, except for Derek."

Derek. There was the name again. It reminded Ricky of his true purpose. His face remained solemn as he looked up the stairs.

"I should probably see Derek now, Mrs. Macdonald, I mean Venturi..." Ricky said.

Nora held up her hand. "Nora."

"Nora," Ricky corrected himself.

Marti continued laughing at Ricky's joke. Nora pointed to the top of the stairs. "Derek's room is the last room on the right. You can't miss it."

Ricky gave a wave as he headed up towards the stairs, his hand clutching Derek's report card in his pocket. "Nice meeting you Nora. Nice meeting you too Marti."

Ricky continued up the stairs, the shakes in his knees coming back. When he reached the top of the stairs he saw another young girl, but older than Marti. She was reading a piece of paper when she looked up and saw Ricky. She gave him a smile.

"Hi," she said.

Ricky waved. "Hi. Are you Derek's other little sister?"

"Stepsister," the girl corrected. She walked closer to Ricky and extended her hand. "Lizzie MacDonald."

Ricky took the young girl's hand giving it a shake. "Ricky West." Ricky smiled.

"Are you one of Derek's friends?" Lizzie asked. "I've never seen you around here before."

"Actually..." Ricky started.

Before he could finish, another face came into view behind Lizzie. Derek Venturi stepped out of his bedroom and began walking down the hall. Derek Venturi shook his head.

"Ricky West is definitely not a friend of mine, Liz," Derek called out.

Lizzie turned around to acknowledge Derek, and then turned around to see Ricky again. She shrugged her shoulders and walked past Ricky. "Nice meeting you, Ricky."

Ricky turned around to say goodbye. "You too, Lizzie."

Derek walked closer and spun Ricky around and grabbed hold of his shirt. "What the hell are you doing here, Westicle?"

Ricky cleared his throat. He was overcome with both anxiety and fear. He stuttered, trying to find his words.

"Come out with it West," Derek said, raising a fist. "Or I'm going to personally see to it that you never come to visit me at my home again."

Ricky's heart pounded faster. He put up his hands in defense. "No. Please Derek! We had a mix-up earlier in school." Ricky fumbled wildly for the report card, producing it from his pockets. He held up the paper to Derek. Derek released his grip and lowered his fist, grabbing the paper from Ricky. He looked it over.

"How did you get my report card?" Derek asked.

"Well remember earlier when we bumped into each other?" Ricky asked.

"Yeah," Derek nodded.

"Well we must have grabbed each other's papers by accident," Ricky finished.

"Uh-huh," Derek said dryly. "Well...thanks, I guess."

Ricky was surprised at the admission of gratitude from Derek. It made him more than just a twenty-four hour jerk that Ricky pegged him as. Ricky gave an acknowledging nod towards Derek.

"Well, what are you still doing here?" Derek asked.

"Umm," Ricky stumbled. "My papers?"

"Oh yeah," Derek replied. "Right. Just a minute."

Derek disappeared back into his room for a few minutes. He came back out with the folded letter that held Ricky's feelings for Derek Venturi's stepsister, Casey MacDonald. He walked towards Ricky and held the letter out to him. Ricky was within touch of it when Derek got curious.

"What is this anyway?" Derek asked. "Must be pretty important if you came all the way out to get it tonight."

Derek started to unfold it. Ricky tried to quickly grab it from Derek, but Derek yanked it back.

"Derek, no!" Ricky exclaimed.

Derek unfolded the letter and read the first line.

"_Dear Casey,_

_I don't know exactly how to say this, but I'm going to try._"

Derek looked up towards Ricky, who was beginning to sweat profusely. A smile began to form at the lips of Derek Venturi. It was the kind of smile that spoke for itself, and said more than any amount of words could say.

"This is real cute, West," Derek mocked. "Do I know this Casey?"

"Umm, no," Ricky lied. It was a bad lie.

Derek picked up on it immediately. He ran his hand through his hair and gave a smirk. "Now I just don't think that's true, Ricky. I think I know this particular girl really well."

"Look Derek," Ricky said. "Please, can I just have it back?"

"Oh sure," Derek said. Ricky tried to reach for the letter, but Derek brought it closer towards himself. Derek waved a finger. "I'll give it back...but for a price."

Ricky shook his head. "Derek, I don't make that much money..."

"I'm not talking about money," Derek interrupted.

"Well then what..." Ricky started.

"You're a smart kid, Westicle," Derek said. "I could use someone to help me out with some of my homework. You know. Get me some good grades to raise some of my bad ones."

"You want me to tutor you?"

"No," Derek said. "You're going to do some of my homework for a while. Let's say until the end of next semester."

"That's blackmail."

"That's right." Derek looked at Ricky who was bowing his head. He sensed that Ricky was not going to accept his offer. He had to make it a little more persuasive. "Hey, you don't have to do it. But then I won't be held responsible for the contents of this letter slipping to Casey."

Ricky stood in silence for another minute. Both Derek and Ricky heard footsteps coming up the stairs. Ricky's heart caught in his throat.

"That's probably Casey coming back from choir practice," Derek said.

Ricky called Derek's bluff. Maybe it was Marti. Double the homework was something Ricky was not looking forward to. However, if it was Casey, this could blow his chances forever.

"Case!" Derek yelled out.

Ricky's hand shot up. "All right, Derek. You got a deal." Ricky let out an exasperated sigh as he turned around and began walking away. He passed the figure in the hallway, and headed down the stairs. He was too embarrassed to look up. He knew it was Casey.

Derek smiled as he folded the letter back up and put it in his pocket. Casey walked down the hallway towards her bedroom. She stopped at Derek.

"Who was that?" Casey asked, motioning towards the stairs.

"Just a friend," Derek said with a smile. "A real good friend."


	4. Rewards

Derek Venturi was proud of himself that evening. In one day, Derek managed to save himself from failing English (with a little help from his stepsister) and guarantee himself good grades for an undetermined amount of time. He chuckled to himself, thinking of the look on Ricky West's face. Derek reached across the table to grab himself some more mashed potatoes.

"These are great mashed potatoes, Nora," Derek said, smiling.

"Thank you, Derek," Nora said, surprised.

Derek's father, George Venturi, was weary of his son's sudden perkiness. George had a feeling something was up, but kept it to himself. After all, there had been no calls from the local police, teachers, or neighbors to fill in the missing details. One question did burn at George Venturi that evening though and he thought dinner was a perfect time to bring it up.

"Well Derek..." George began.

Derek defensively turned to his father with a mouthful of mashed potatoes. "What Dad?"

Marti started giggling at Derek's display of anti-Emily Post table manners. Casey was unamused as was Lizzie. She mouthed a gag.

"Derek!" George said, raising his voice. "Swallow your food!"

Derek raised his eyebrows quizzically, before swallowing. He looked around the table at his stepsisters, his own sister, and his brother, Edwin. He put his hand up in apology, silently saying "sorry" before turning back to his father.

"How did your English presentation go today, Derek?" Nora asked.

"Yes!" George chimed in. "That's just what I was about to ask you, Derek. How did it go?"

George looked at Derek intently, his eyes narrowing into his son. George was half expecting Derek to lie outright, to stumble with the question. Derek's quick answer surprised him.

"Dad, Nora," Derek said. "It went great!"

"YAY SMEREK!" yelled Marti.

George started to get angry, and began to yell but caught himself, reviewing in his mind what Derek had just said. "What?"

"It's true George," Casey said. "He did great! I was really proud of him. We got a 92 on our project."

Derek looked across the table at his stepsister and gave her a smile. Casey caught herself returning the smile. It felt good. She actually started to see him as something more than an annoying stepbrother, but she dared not to admit that.

George was speechless for the moment. Nora smiled towards her husband. Edwin gave his brother an affirmative pat on the back. Lizzie still couldn't believe her ears.

"Well I think this calls for a celebration, George," Nora said to her husband.

George turned to his wife. "I think you're right, Nor."

"How about we all go out for ice cream?" Nora asked, speaking to the entire table.

"ICE CREAM!" Marti squealed.

"Yeah that sounds like fun!" Lizzie and Edwin said in unison.

"Sounds good, Nora," Derek said. "Thank you."

After the MacDonald-Venturis had climbed into their minivan it was going on 7:45. Marti fought Nora for the seat next to her Dad causing a part of the delay. Casey also took a few minutes to change, furthering the holdup. They arrived just in time, before the parlor was going to close. Marti settled for a bowl of cotton candy ice cream, while Eddie and Lizzie each had their own vanilla milkshake. Casey stepped away from the pay window with her strawberry ice cream cone. She noticed Derek sitting on a bench away from the rest of the family, who were busily into their respective dishes.

Derek took a few more spoonfuls of his chocolate ice cream, before setting the cup down. It was a nice gesture from everybody to take him out for ice cream, but Derek had more important things in mind. For one, he had to start his list for Ricky on things that needed to be done. Secondly, him and Sam were going to have a playoff in _Babe Raider. _He needed to get a little practice in before Sam came over and bested him, like he usually did.

Casey walked towards Derek, licking her ice cream. Derek looked up, catching his stepsister's eye. Casey moved closer towards the bench and stopped when she reached it. She pointed to the empty spot next to Derek.

"Do you mind if I sit next to you?" Casey asked her stepbrother.

Derek looked up at his stepsister. He began thinking about the letter that Ricky wrote her. He understood how Ricky could fall for Casey. She was attractive. Wait a minute, what was he thinking? This was his stepsister he was talking about...but it was the stepsister who had helped him pass English.

Derek gave a smile to her. "I don't mind."

Derek scooted over, as Casey sat down. She took a few more licks of her ice cream before putting it into the trash next to her. The two sat in silence for a minute, before Derek broke the silence.

"So what's up?" Derek asked.

Casey shrugged her shoulders. "Not too much."

Another moment of silence ensued. Derek looked towards his stepsister. He felt like he needed to say something to her. Something more than "what's up?" Derek couldn't get Ricky's letter out of his head.

"Derek?" Casey asked.

"Yeah?" Derek replied.

"Who was that up in the hall earlier?" Casey asked.

Derek bit his lip. Should he tell her? He couldn't tell her about the letter per his agreement with Ricky, but he could mention his name, right? Derek didn't know about Casey's love life, but she knew she was single. He knew she wasn't dating anybody, but he couldn't stand the thought of her dating Ricky West. It was half stepbrother instinct and half protection of his stepsister that he didn't want to say Ricky's name.

"Oh it was Ken Jamros," Derek lied. "He came by to see if I wanted him to take the history notes on Friday when I'm away for hockey."

"Wow," Casey said, looking astonished. "You really are getting serious about school all of a sudden."

"Yea," Derek said dryly, shaking his head. He then looked back at his stepsister, the nerve coming back to him. "Case?"

Casey turned towards her stepbrother. She started to feel a little nervous. Her stomach started to do small somersaults as she looked at her stepbrother. Derek ran his hand through his hair before speaking, which didn't help the prickles on the back of Casey's neck from staying down.

"I just wanted to say thanks again," Derek said softly. "Believe it or not, it'd be very embarrassing if I failed another grade."

Casey smiled again. "You're welcome. I meant it when I said I was really proud of you."

Derek gave a small laugh. "I appreciate that."

The next moment was kind of a blur for both Derek and Casey. Everything seemed perfect. The full moon in the spring sky shined brightly down as the MacDonald-Venturi's were busy keeping Marti in check, Derek Venturi moved in closer to his stepsister, and their lips met quickly. Casey closed her eyes enjoying the moment and taking in the softness of Derek's lips, until he drew back quickly.

Derek and Casey looked to each other in confusion. They sat in silence, unsure of what to make of what had just happened. Fortunately, Nora, George, and the rest of the clan came over to break the silence.

"Ready kids?" Nora asked both of them.

"Yeah!" Casey said, jumping to her feet, averting her eyes from Derek. "Let's get going."

Derek got up and followed after his family, trying to push the kiss into the back of his mind. Luckily for him, Ricky's letter aided in his memory loss. Tomorrow was the beginning of a new day, and it certainly was going to be a good one for Derek Venturi, but a horrible one for Ricky West.


	5. Chapter 5: Shining Advice

Ricky blinked once. Then he blinked again. He didn't have to look at his alarm clock much longer to know that it was going to go off in just a mere minute. He'd been counting down the minute for at least seven hours now. Ever since he left the MacDonald-Venturi's house last night, Ricky couldn't seem to get to sleep. Maybe it was the raw deal he had to strike with Derek. Perhaps it was the way he couldn't face Casey on his way out. But most of all, it was because Derek Venturi had in his possession something that contained everything he had ever wanted to tell Casey MacDonald.

BZZZZZZ! 7:00 AM.

Ricky slammed his hand down on his alarm to silence it. Slowly, he threw his blanket back, swung his sleep-deprived body over and planted both of his feet down. He walked to his bathroom and looked in the mirror. Ricky staggered back, startled by the zombie that stared back at him. A small sigh of relief escaped. Ricky splashed some water onto his sunken face, in an attempt to rejuvenate it, before mopping it up with a nearby washcloth.

Ricky turned back slowly into his room and threw on an old pullover shirt. The sun shining into his room seemed out of place at the moment. Ricky shut the blinds, pushing back the warm beams that were entreating on his misery, and gained a moment of solace. Ricky took a deep breath as he started down the stairs.

Even the warm smell of his mother's french toast was not enough to rouse Ricky into a smile. As a matter of fact, Ricky walked right by his mother, not even sparing her his customary "good morning." Mrs. West knew something was wrong, but she knew when to keep her mouth closed. Mrs. West knew that it was that time of year where Ricky got a little overwhelmed by school and thought that may have been reason for lack of response this morning.

Ricky threw on his coat and hoisted his book bag onto his shoulder. He opened and closed the door behind him as he walked to his bike. Hopping onto it, Ricky began peddling away from his house. Furiously he peddled towards the school, hoping that the gaining speed would allow the wind to hit him harder and erase his fears of what was to come. Derek Venturi held the cards and Ricky had no trump.

Meanwhile...

Casey MacDonald walked slowly to her locker, cradling her algebra and history book in her arms. She fumbled at her combination, as images of last evening's kiss with her stepbrother fumbled with her mind. She was really shook up about it, but in a way she couldn't stop smiling about it. She hadn't talked to her stepbrother since last evening...

Breakfast was rather quiet. Derek Venturi and Casey MacDonald avoided eyeballing each other from across the table. Casey looked down, nervous to face her stepbrother. She stabbed at her soggy cereal with her spoon. Derek put more of his cereal in his house, crunching loudly. The silence was uncomfortable, but silence wasn't commonplace at the MacDonald-Venturi breakfast table for too long.

Marti tugged at Derek's shirt sleeve. Derek remained in a trance, trying to avoid eye contact with his stepsister. He didn't know how it happened last night, but he couldn't get the taste of her lips out of his mind. Marti tugged again more violently at Derek's shirt.

"HEY SMEREK!" Marti yelled loudly.

Derek turned to his younger sister. "Yes Smarti?"

"Will you take me to see the new Winnie the Pooh movie tonight?" Marti asked.

"Why don't you ask Dad and Nora to take you?" Derek replied.

"NO! I WANT YOU!" screamed Marti.

Edwin and Lizzie covered their ears as Marti started hitting the table and continued screaming. Derek rolled his eyes. George ran into the kitchen and grabbed Marti's arms to stop her from pounding down on the table again.

"Marti!" George said. "What's wrong?"

George instinctively looked at Derek. Derek shrugged his shoulders. Nora came in a moment later to see what the commotion was about.

"What's wrong?" Nora said, slightly out of breath.

"I want Derek to take me to see Winnie the Pooh tonight!" Marti said loudly.

"Well of course he will, right Derek?" George pleaded with Derek.

Derek rolled his eyes. "Dad, it's Friday night."

"Yes..." George said, waiting for Derek to continue. "And...?"

"And...and..." Derek searched for an excuse. He tried to lie quickly so it wouldn't seem like he was making something up, but nothing came out. "And, I have nothing going on." He turned to his younger sister and with a forced smile. "I'd love to take you to the movies Smarti."

"ALL RIGHT!" Marti said, smiling. She turned to her father, and gave him an innocent. "Thank you Daddy!"

"Well," Nora said with a sigh. "I'm glad that's settled."

Casey got up from the table and brought her dish over to the sink. She rinsed it out and grabbed her books. "See you later, Mom. See you later, George." She waved to her sister and Edwin, and Marti, but was unsure of what to do when it came to Derek. Instead she exited quickly and started towards school...

Ricky parked his bike into the bike rack and quickly chained it up. He bounded towards the entrance to the school, but was detained by a voice.

"Ricky!" called the voice. "Hey, wait up!"

Ricky froze in step. The voice for a minute sounded like Derek Venturi. He breathed a sigh of relief as the familiar form of his friend, Sheldon Schlepper came from the side.

"What's up, Rick?" Sheldon asked.

"Not too much, Shel," Ricky answered.

"Well how did it go?" Sheldon asked.

"What do you mean?" Ricky bluffed.

Sheldon saw right through it. He shook his head at the bad play by Ricky. Ricky should have known that Sheldon wouldn't let it go. "You know what I mean, Ricky."

Ricky gave a nod. He turned his eyes to the ground and kicked a nearby stone. "He's still got it."

Sheldon's eyes grew wide. "Did he tell Casey?"

Ricky shook his head. "No. And he won't as long as I play by his rules."

Sheldon's eyes shrunk a little bit as he put a comforting hand onto Ricky's shoulder. "I'm sorry, man. Really, I am. Anything I can do?"

Ricky shook his head again, glumly. "I have no choice but to keep the deal we made."

"And what kind of deal is this exactly?"

"A bad one," Ricky replied. "Just call me Derek Venturi's homework machine."

Sheldon frowned and slowly removed his hand. "That's rough, man. Maybe you should just tell Casey the truth."

"Are you crazy?" Ricky asked. "That's what the letter was for. So I wouldn't have to tell her face to face."

"Well, maybe I am crazy," Sheldon responded. "But it just seems like you're going through an awful lot of trouble for a girl that you really like, but have no clue if she likes you back. What's the worst she can do, Rick? Tell you 'no'?"

Sheldon left Ricky as he walked into the school building. Ricky looked up at the sky, desperately searching for some sort of sign. Was Sheldon right? He rarely was wrong, Ricky thought. The problem was Ricky didn't have the guts. Every time he got within a few inches of Casey MacDonald, his stomach did acrobatics that would rival those of Barnum and Bailey's finest performers. With a half-breath, Ricky walked towards the entrance of the school building...

Casey finished putting away her books into her locker, when she spied in her locker mirror, a familiar face. It was Derek. She took a minute before she turned around to face her stepbrother.

"Hey," she said quietly.

"Hey," Derek replied softly.

There was a moment of silence before the step siblings talked again. Both began speaking at the same time.

"About last night," they said in unison.

Derek and Casey laughed a minute.

"You go first," Casey said, smiling.

"No, you go," Derek said.

"Well..." Casey began. "Look. Last night was great. It was really nice to get along for once, you know."

"Totally," Derek replied.

"But..." Casey started again. "The kiss..."

"The kiss," Derek said, sighing.

"Not that it wasn't nice, Derek," Casey tried to comfort. "But, it was weird. Too weird."

"I know, Case," Derek answered. "I didn't mean to..."

"I know," Casey finished. "Me neither."

Derek held out his hand as a peace offering. Casey moved it away and moved in and wrapped her arms around Derek. Derek responded by putting his arms around her in a hug. He ran his hand through Casey's hair. After a moment that felt like an eternity to Derek, Casey pulled away. She gave a smile to Derek who returned it. Derek's heart thumped loudly, as he walked towards his next class. The weight from his shoulders had been lifted, but something was missing.

Emily Davis, in awe at what she just witnessed, walked towards Casey.

"Did I just see what I thought I saw?" Emily asked

Casey nodded. Emily laughed, still caught off guard.

"What was that about?" Emily questioned.

"Just one of those feel-good brother-sister moments..." Casey said softly...

Ricky walked towards his first class and bumped into Derek Venturi. Derek looked up. Ricky saw a hint of something in his eyes. It wasn't a spark of mischief as was usually there, but maybe, sadness? Derek tried to maneuver past Ricky towards his class.

"Look, Ricky, now's not a good time," Derek said.

"Ricky?"

Ricky puzzled at Derek's use of his name and not his nickname given to him. Something was wrong, but Ricky couldn't quite get at it. Derek tried to get into class, but Ricky held his ground.

"Look, Derek," Ricky said. "We need to talk."

"If this is about our deal, West," Derek answered. "It's still on."

Ricky shook his head. "Look it is about our deal. And I want you to know..."

Derek looked at Ricky. Something had changed about him. He seemed more confident. There was a light around him that Derek had never seen before. Maybe it was a trick of the hallway lights, but Derek knew he wasn't going to like what was about to be said.

"It's off," Ricky said.

"What did you just say?" Derek challenged.

"I said, it's off," Ricky repeated.

"Then you know the deal," Derek said, reaching for Ricky's letter in his pocket. Derek looked back towards Casey as he flaunted Ricky's letter in front of his face. "I'll tell Casey everything that your lovey-dovey note says."

"Not if I tell her first," Ricky answered.

"What?" Derek's eyes popped open.

And with that, Ricky walked towards Casey MacDonald, the light still surrounding him, as the darkness of Derek Venturi disappeared, slowly shrinking, as Ricky's fate grew larger...


	6. Detention Hell

For the first time in his life, Ricky West walked with confidence towards Casey MacDonald. He knew what he had to do to set things right. It was the only way to get rid of his headache, or to give it a more appropriate name: Derek Venturi. The words were on the tip of his tongue. Though Ricky's letter was nestled in Derek's coat pocket, Ricky knew the words of his manifesto by heart. He could recite them with no difficulty. That is, with no difficulty barring the presence of Casey MacDonald.

But there she was. Only a mere ten feet in front of Ricky. Had she noticed him yet? Not likely. Ricky could be two feet in front of her, and strangely enough, he still seemed invisible to her. Casey closed her locker door, and then looked up and saw the shy teen boy walking towards her. She smiled at him. He looked familiar, but Casey couldn't place the face.

Ricky's heart beat faster as he closed in upon Casey. She had smiled at him. His breath caught in his throat. He had to remind himself to breathe. With all the nerve he could muster he shot a smile back at Casey, and his hand betrayed him as it shot up and gave a weak wave instinctively. Now her attention had been caught.

Casey's curiosity was piqued, and she struggled to arouse any memory that might give her a clue to the mysterious boy's identity. There was a semi-flashback and she recalled someone falling in her English class, then laughter. There was a pang of familiarity to Casey's own fall only a few months earlier, which had earned her the embarrassing nickname "Klutzilla." Then another memory followed. She remembered the boy rushing down the stairs in her home last night when she came home from choir practice. Was the one who fell in her English class and the boy from last night one and the same? How could that be though? Didn't Derek say the boy last night was Ken Jamros? And wasn't the boy's name in her English class...

"Hi, I'm..." began Ricky, interrupting Casey's train of thought. Before he could finish, Casey seemed to connect the dots.

"Ricky? Right?" questioned Casey.

Ricky was flabbergasted. She did know his name. Before Ricky could respond, however, the bell rang, signaling the start of classes. Casey jumped at the sound.

"Oh, sorry. I have to run" Casey said, moving past Ricky quickly. As she was running to her next class, she called back to Ricky. "I'll see you in English, Ricky!"

Ricky stood in Casey's wake, helpless and alone. Afraid to move. Afraid to talk. But somehow he managed to call after her, weak as it was.

"Yeah," Ricky said, with a sense of defeat. "I'll see you in..."

"Detention, Mr. West," said the ominous voice that spoke behind Ricky.

Ricky didn't need to turn around to recognize it was Principal Lassiter, but he did anyway. Ricky looked up at the lanky man, who was shaking his head.

"This is unlike you Mr. West," lectured Lassiter. "Of all people, you're usually first to class."

"I know sir, but..." began Ricky.

"No buts about it, Ricky," Lassiter said, cutting in abruptly. "You know my policy on tardiness."

"Yes, sir," Ricky said with a sigh.

"You may serve it this afternoon," Principal Lassiter finished. "Don't let it happen again Mr. West."

"Yes, sir," Ricky echoed.

Ricky put his head down and walked sadly to his next class, thinking all the while whether fate was always so cruel. When would be a good time to talk to Casey, and tell her everything? More importantly, could he work up the nerve to do it a second time?

Sheldon may have been right. The worst Casey could tell him was "she wasn't interested." But to have her uninterested was a penalty worse than death for Ricky. With Casey in the dark about his true feelings, Ricky would always have his daydreams of what "could" be. And something was up with Derek. Something Ricky couldn't put his finger on, but made him at once both uneasy and curious...

Ricky decided to keep to himself the rest of the day, delaying in his own thoughts, questioning himself again and again. When the final bell ring, and the rest of the kids rushed to their lockers to pick up their things to take home. Ricky took his books and walked to detention hall, or as Ricky referred to it: "Detention Hell." He had only been there once before, but it was for a less serious reason than now. Ricky had thought it was absurd to assign a detention for an overdue library book, but he could see where the librarian was coming from. He had kept the book three months past its due date. Ricky couldn't even remember the name of the book as he took a seat in detention hall. His thoughts were so clouded. He thought endlessly about Casey. He began to float into a cloud of his thoughts, and he pictured Casey in his mind's eye, smiling at him from this afternoon, and how sweetly his own name was uttered by her lips. It wasn't too late thereafter, however, that a storm cloud approached and shattered his daydream.

"Hey West," called Derek from outside the room. He sauntered into detention hall and dropped a list of homework assignments in front of Ricky.

"What is this?" Ricky asked, already knowing the answer.

"Well you didn't tell Casey," Derek said. "Which didn't surprise me, just to let you know. So I thought I'd give you some extra things to keep you busy while you serve your time in detention."

"Thanks Derek," Ricky replied. "That's very thoughtful."

"Isn't it?" Derek answered smugly. "Have it ready for Monday morning, okay?"

Ricky grumbled something in response, but it didn't matter to Derek. He was already out the door, ready to enjoy his weekend. Ricky looked over the list, let out a sigh and began to work on it. Thankfully, Derek's homework was a level behind most of Ricky's classes, so Ricky was able to finish it quickly.

The rest of Ricky's time in Detention Hell was slow and agonizing. His eye followed the second and minute hands of the clock, desperately awaiting the hour hand to strike five and signal his freedom. When 5:00 came, Ricky shot up from his seat and made a beeline to his locker to gather his things.

Ricky looked around the halls. They were empty. Well, mostly. A few of the sports teams were still practicing, and Glee Club was just letting out. Ricky almost jumped out of his skin. Glee Club! It was as if Fate had gotten over its laughter from earlier and granted Ricky a second chance.

Casey walked out of the choral room and to her locker to gather her things. She said goodbye to a few of her Glee Club friends, and then she saw Ricky. She smiled, and started to walk over to him. Ricky buried his head in his locker, and made like he was looking for something. Before too long his nostrils were filled with Casey's perfume, and he knew she was standing behind him.

"Hi Ricky," she said enthusiastically.

Ricky slowly turned, and he felt his cheeks flushing with color. He managed a half-hearted response.

"Hi Casey," he said weakly.

"I didn't know you stayed after school on Fridays too," Casey said. "Now let me guess which club you're in. Hmmm..."

Ricky waved off the idea. "Actually Casey, ummm, I'm not in any clubs. I had detention."

She furrowed her eyebrows at him, and then raised one quizically. "You had detention? For what?"

"It's kind of stupid, really," Ricky answered.

"Come on," Casey prodded. "You can tell me. I won't tell anyone your dark and devious deed."

Ricky let out a little chuckle. "Believe me, it's nothing like that. Remember when we met in the halls earlier?"

Casey nodded. "Yeah?"

"Well, the long and short of it is that you made it to your next class before..."

"Lassiter caught you after the bell, huh?"

Ricky nodded. "Yep, you guessed it."

"I'm so sorry, Ricky," Casey said.

"For what?" Ricky asked.

"Well, I feel partly responsible," Casey replied. "If I hadn't held you up, you probably would have made it in time to your next class."

"That's ridiculous," Ricky said. "It was just bad timing that's all."

"How can I make it up to you?" Casey asked.

"There's nothing to make up for," Ricky said holding his hands up. "I insist."

"All right," Casey said, giving up with an exasperated sigh.

Ricky smiled. This was the longest conversation that him and Casey MacDonald had ever had. Officially, they just met today. However, the way they had been talking the past few minutes had seemed like they were friends for a while.

Casey picked up her knapsack and threw it over her shoulder. "Well, I should be heading off. It was nice talking to you, Ricky." She left and started walking down the hall. Ricky took a deep breath and followed after her.

"Hey, Casey," Ricky said, stopping her in her tracks.

Casey turned around. "Mmm-hmmm?"

"Walk you home?" Ricky asked.

"Actually, my mom was coming to get me at about 5:30," Casey said, shrugging her shoulders. "Sorry."

Ricky felt defeated again. He gave an understanding nod, though and put on a smile, even if it was faked for Casey's sake.

"That's all right," Ricky said. "Maybe some other time." He paused a minute. "Tell Nora I said hello."

Uh-oh, did Ricky just say that? He thought he internalized it, but he was afraid it may have slipped through his lips. He was right.

"How do you know my mom's name?" Casey asked curiously.

"Ummm, a guess?" Ricky lied badly.

Casey shook her head. "No, I don't think so. Wait a minute. That was you last night, wasn't it?"

"Last night?" Ricky asked, trying to lie again to cover up his slip.

"Stop kidding around Ricky," Casey said. "You were over at my house last night. You and Derek were talking, right?"

Ricky threw up his hands in the air. "You got me! I was over there."

Casey laughed. "I had a feeling it was you."

Casey pulled out her phone and began to dial a number. After a moment, there was an answer.

"Hi, mom?" Casey began. "Don't worry about coming to get me. I think I'm going to walk home. Yep, I'm sure. Okay. I love you too. Bye!"

Ricky's heart caught in his throat. Was this it? Would he have to come clean now? He knew the cat was out of the bag, so to speak, that he was over at her house last night. Either way, it was going to be a long walk home.


End file.
